April 2010

The Elephant in the Classroom


Over the past several years, my 12 year-old has had to deal with a teacher battling breast cancer (successfully), another teacher whose young husband ultimately lost his battle with cancer during the school year, a friend whose father is dying, and a teammate who is currently in remission. As you can imagine, it’s brought on a lot of discussion in our house. What’s been missing, though, is a discussion of it in the classroom. It’s not been uncommon to hear the kids talk about cancer during a carpool session – “What exactly is cancer? What does it do to your body?” It’s a topic that lurks in the shadows, and one that many adults don’t want to discuss.

Earth Day: Smart(er) Water


April 22 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day conceived to raise awareness of the Earth’s environment and our ecological health. Much progress has been made during this time: creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act are just a few examples of how the public and government have worked together to institute environmental change. Much work, however, still needs to be done. According to the World Health Organization, over 80% of disease in the developing world is due to water-related illnesses. Currently, about 20% of the world’s population (roughly 1.1 billion people) lack access to safe drinking water.

The Tax Man Cometh


Americans have long had strong opinions about taxes. Occasionally in our history there have been tax revolts, such as the Boston Tea Party, the Whiskey Rebellion, and more recently, California’s Proposition 13 in the late 1970s. Once a year – every April 15 – an elderly man in my neighborhood flies the Jolly Roger from his flag pole in protest. On the flip side, Oliver Wendell Holmes said that taxes are the price that we pay for civilization, and many concur. Taxes pay for our roads, our schools, social services, national security, and many other things. Due to hearing dissenting opinions about taxes, students often have many questions about them, and the role that taxes play in our society.

Death By Algebra


What is algebra exactly; is it those three-cornered things? - J.M. Barrie

J.M. Barrie, beloved playwright and author of Peter Pan, was obviously not particularly enraptured by algebra. In fact, many students, at one time or another, will probably hate algebra. Shocker, I know. There’s even an “I hate algebra” group on Facebook. Some students will mutter about how learning algebra is a waste of time – when will they ever use it?? – but the fact is, they will indeed use it throughout their lives. Calculating costs, profits, interest rates, and distance are just a few examples of how algebra is applied in the real world.